Meridian Petroleum (EPIC: MRP)

Assets and Key Events

The following assets and events are based on the "Activity Update" RNS released on 27th April 2006. Victory 1-21 (10% WI) Fluid is currently being removed from the well, however it is continuing to produce gas at a rate of 150 - 250 mcfgpd. The removal of fluid is expected to take between 30 - 45 days, following which production is anticipated to rise to approximately 1 mmcfpd. Calvin 36-1 (80% WI 67.5% NRI) The Calvin well had substantial gas shows (see "Calvin Well Commercial" RNS 24-01-06). The company has experienced some small hold ups in obtaining the appropriate personnel and equipment, and now anticipates completion and tie in within the next 30 days. Meridian is developing plans to re-enter the Calvin 5 # 31 well to test the Rodessa zone and potentially produce from either the Sligo Petit or Redessa zones. This should require minimal capital expenditure and is planned to commence after the completion of 36 # 1. Orion (100%) The company has recently signed a second 40 acre lease block with the land owner. Permitting is on going and drilling operations are set to begin at the end of the second quarter. Based on data from earlier wells, the asset is believed to contain around 2.7 billion cubic feet of recoverable gas (See "Orion Lease Signed" RNS 14-02-06). Milford 36 (25% WI) The company plans to utilize coiled tubing on the well bore and drill several lateral legs. Drilling activity is likely to commence towards the end of the second quarter. Hustler (80% WI) Meridian has acquired the Old South Royalty lease in the centre of a defined area for potential production from the Lower Tuscaloosa oil sands. In order to develop this position further, the company has commenced acquisition of seismic leases, with an option to drill in some 800 acres around the Old South Royalty lease. The company is finalising an agreement to shoot 3D seismic with a Houston based partner. Emery Hudson The company is currently reviewing the 3D seismic data with a view to a possible re-entry in the third quarter. Coal Bed Methane Meridian has identified a significant CBM project in the USA. The study is with the company's reserve engineers. Following the review, anticipated in the next few weeks, the company expects to lease an initial foot print in order to undertake a pilot project. Australia The company has conducted a detailed review. The analysis reported several distinct hydrocarbon indicators and two potentially significant reservoirs. The data and supporting study are being reviewed by Scott Pickford in the UK, and an opinion will be rendered shortly.

Research

You should always do your own research before investing in a company, and you should not rely on comments posted here or on other sites as a basis for your investment descisions. The following links may be useful: Meridian Petroleum Web Site     Recent company RNS announcements     Oil Barrel

$20 pb is a total nonsense, but then so imo is $100, at least in the foreseeable future ..... In the very short term, as summer consumption is lower, I would not be surprised to see some weakening, but suspect the bottom will be no lower than $65 ..... Of course, if political disruption intervenes, there result may even be an increase to say $75 while the situation is resolved ...... However, much political noise is purely sabre rattling and has little bearing on reality.

Meridian Petroleum upbeat on Delores
MoneyAM

Meridian Petroleum said the Delores prospect in south Australia is estimated to hold gas-in-place of 547 billion cubic feet.

Delores is located at the Arrowie Basin, onshore south Australia, about 40 kilometres east of the Moomba-Adelaide gas pipeline linking the Cooper Basin gas fields to the south Australian gas consumers.

Meridian, which has a 100% working interest in the licence, said it is planning to drill the area later this year.

Scott Pickford, part of RPS Energy, carried out an independent evaluation of the site, it said.

I emailed TM regarding cost of drilling Delores, below is his reply. does anyone know where there are any maps of the oz prospects ?
tia,
Dexter

What was released is to my mind a very conservative estimate as was the probability. The price and structure we are not prepared to divulge at this time but clearly that issue is on going and very much being worked upon.

Anthony J. Mason,

CEO Meridian Petroleum PLC
Meridian Resources, USA, Inc
Meridian Resources Australia, Pty
(T) 713-599-1611
(C) 713-201-6883
(F) 713-552-1641


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: ****** *******
Sent: Mon 5/15/2006 05:24
To: Information
Subject: re; delores


Dear sir,
your update on reserves in the delores project are very encouraging indeed and I look forward to the commencement of drilling. In the RNS it was stated the theprobably of a strike rate is 20%, would you be able to give me any idea of the cost involved of drilling each and any well.
many thanks,
Roger *******

18.05.2006
Meridian Petroleum Hopes To Drill The 550 BCF Delores Prospect Later This Year As It Chases CBM Potential In The US
The newsflow from Meridian Petroleum usually concerns its projects in the US but this week the AIM-quoted firm provided an update on its Australian properties, where work has been stalled for the past two years due to native title issues. With the company hopeful its Australian lawyers are within months of reaching agreement on native title, it has released details of an independent reserves report from petroleum engineering consultancy Scott Pickford.

The report covers the Delores prospect, which lies in licence PELA 132, one of four Meridian holds in the Arrowie Basin of South Australia. The prospective resource on Delores is put at 547 billion cubic feet of gas in place, with a P50 recoverable gas number of 432 bcf. Scott Pickford has assigned the prospect a one-in-five chance of success.

If the drillbit proves up these numbers - and Meridian hopes to drill here later this year - then this looks to be a commercially viable prospect. Unlike so much of Australias gas, Delores lies within 40 km of existing infrastructure, namely the Moomba-Adelaide gas pipeline which links the Cooper Basin gas fields to South Australian gas consumers. Growing gas demand in the region wedded to market deregulation and a favourable licensing and fiscal regime add to the projects attractiveness - and Meridian holds 35,000 sq km of acreage here which could hold Delores look-alikes.

Meridian is mulling a possible farm-out or joint venture before drilling Delores, which is likely to be a multi-well prospect and will require capital investment in a connecting pipeline.

To run a project of this size from Houston or London you need to have people on the ground, Meridians Houston-based chief executive Tony Mason told oilbarrel.com. It might be useful to have a strong local partner although it is possible we might hire people locally and do it ourselves because this is fairly shallow drilling and the test wells will not be that expensive.

Meridian has already done significant work to derisk the prospect, reviewing and reprocessing all the stack data and 2D seismic that was originally shot in 1986. We have remapped it and created the digital footprint we were looking for, said Mason. We did AVO analysis on the lines and identified two features with hydrocarbon reflections and bright spots.

In the meantime the company continues to make progress in the US despite the equipment shortages that are currently hampering the efforts of all onshore operators. The Victory 1-21 production well in Michigan, in which Meridian has a 10 per cent working interest, is producing at variable rates, between 150,000 and 250,000 cubic feet per day, as it is cleaned up following a deepening and acid treatment, which exposed an additional 31 feet of net pay. The flow rate is expected to surge to 1 million cf/d as this work is completed.

The star in the companys portfolio is the Calvin field in Louisiana, where the Calvin 36-1 well flowed more than 1 million cf/d of condensate-rich gas from the Sligo Petit zone earlier this year. Meridian has an 80 per cent working interest in this project. There have been some delays getting the well onstream due to the difficulties of getting the right people and equipment in a tight market.

Once the 36-1 well has been tied-in, the company plans to re-enter an old well on the field, 35-1, to test the Rodessa zone and potentially produce from either the Sligo Petit or Rodessa zones. The well is already cased so this should be a low-cost workover. Meridian is also hoping to gain rights to deeper gas zones in the Calvin field, which is on trend with deep gas plays to the north that are now in production.

The company has also made progress with its 3 bcf Orion sour gas project in Michigan, of which it holds 100 per cent. The field is home to two wells that were drilled and produced at rates of between 2 and 4 million cf/d during the late 1980s and early 1990s but were then shut-in because of the hydrogen sulphide content of the gas.

Meridian plans to get this gas deposit back into production using a single well and two sulphur treat towers, a facility that is expected to cost between US$1.25 and US$1.5 million. The permitting process is underway and the company has extended its land holdings here to enable an 80-acre unit to be established. Meridian expects the sustained flow rate to come in between 2-4 million cf/d like the previous wells.

In the meantime, the company is excited by a new coal bed methane opportunity in the US. Meridian has hired petroleum engineering consultancy Scott Pickford to review an existing detailed feasibility study, which, if the outcome is positive, will encourage the company to lease an initial foot print in order to undertake a pilot CBM project. This is an exciting project, which could hold around 1 tcf of reserves, and an announcement is expected shortly.

CBM,

Its a happening thing.


Caterpillar to power coal methane gas project in China
www.chinaview.cn 2006-05-19 21:37:51


BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua)-- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) announced Friday that it will work with a Chinese coal mine on a coal methane gas project which is expected to be the largest of its kind in the world.

According to Stu Levenick, Caterpillar group president for China, Caterpillar has been selected to provide 60 methane-gas-powered generator sets to produce 120 megawatts of power at the Sihe Coal Mine in Jincheng City, north China's Shanxi Province.

The Shanxi Jincheng Anthracite Coal Mining Group Co., Ltd. is the project developer for the methane gas power project.

"The residents of Shanxi Province will benefit from this power plant," Levenick acknowledged. "This project is expected to help improve mine safety, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and generate electricity from methane gas."

The entire methane-fired power plant is expected to be fully operational in 2007.

Methane gas is found in coal seams and can be hazardous if not properly managed and ventilated from mines. Historically, the methane has been released into the atmosphere, generating greenhouse gas emissions.

By capturing the methane gas and converting it into electric power, the methane-fired power plant is estimated to alleviate greenhouse gas emissions by 4.5 million tons over a two-decade period, according to Levenick.

China plans to develop coal methane gas into a major new energy resource for this century.

Currently, China's coal methane gas reserves have reached 30 trillion cubic meters, the third largest in the world only after Russia and Canada. Enditem

Editor: Yang Lei

CBM = cow bottom methane! ..... If all cows were culled, there would be significantly less methane or greenhouse gas released into the antmosphere ..... Where are the Friends of the Earth when you need them?

Does anyone have an idea what the SP may now rise to with the Calvin news. It appears that with the last two RNS, the SP has fallen back rather than gone forwards. It appears that the share has become a traders share & there is a vey high possibility that this one will drop once the news is out. I hope I an very very wrong as I have a substantial holding !!
When the FTSE rises by 100+ points on Friday with the RNS for MRP and the share only rises 0.75, is that a worry or should I keep the faith, any other thoughts ??

pumben..just look at the market cap compared to other more risky oil/gas plays..thats why i'm holding mine tightly...market makers will have to let it go soon

maestro .... the market cap is hardly anything to get excited about ...... nevertheless, i think this company has great prospects and have even increased my own holding within the last few days - i.e. i don't expect sp to slowly shrivel away!

Guys, thanks for taking the time to answer, I agree, I think long term this share looks a good prospect, still has the Aussie story to develop. Lets hopd for more good news !!!

tm IN usa??? WAS HE THERE TO SEE CALVIN GET HOOKED UP THIS WEEKEND, IS HE IN BED NOW??

WHY DO WE NEED 2 MRP THREADS RUNNING AT THE SAME TIME????

http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:MRP.L&display=discussion&it=le

RNS in 45 minutes yourallmugs
Just received email to confirm ....



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Potatohead, has your watched stopped?

KD.

The story was about as valid as I expected .... total bollocks

LOL

Potatohead you scally wag.

Good update on Meridian Petroleum in the Shares Magazine today.

dexter on ad fvn got email from TM, accounts account shortly... reval figures

YUUUMMMYYYY, SHARE MAGS MISSED THAT OUT IN THERE PIECE, THEY DIDNT DO VERY GOOD RESEARCH DID THEY

email i got from TM or his office today, yes it is genuine before anyone asks!

Dexter

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Annual report due shortly, Calvin very much on track.

Anthony J. Mason,

CEO Meridian Petroleum PLC
Meridian Resources, USA, Inc
Meridian Resources Australia, Pty
(T) 713-599-1611
(C) 713-201-6883
(F) 713-552-1641


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: ****** *******
Sent: Fri 6/2/2006 02:24
To: Information
Subject: Calvin tie in


Dear sir,
I am a shareholder and am becoming a little concerned that the anticipated timescale for the Calvin tie in has passed once more. Are there more problems with equipment and personnel etc., as you were hoping originally to have Cavin on line by the first part of April.

Am i correct in thinking that the annual results and any re valuation are due anytime ?.
I look forward to your reply,
Roger

All looks good for next week. testing of flow at calvin connection will make this rise to 40-50p